Waiting
by Lazuli
Summary: Not all people came to Radiant Garden at the same time.


Waiting

By: Lazuli

A KH fanfic—another one? Ye gods, where are they coming from…? This was spawned by Laz's frustration at not seeing Zack in KH2. Spoilers for the game/end of the game and maybe some parts of the game. Ooh, even FF7 spoilers, Advent Children Spoilers…

Please enjoy, FF7 and KH2 does not belong to me.

Cloud waited.

He knew that people were still finding their way back to their worlds, their homes; making new ones in the places they landed when the original wave of Heartless attacked. Those that had died before the incursions… that had given their lives to stop earlier evils...they were given new chances and new lives. First in Traverse Town and now in Radiant Garden.

Yuffie was here and so was Cid. After searching and making a deal with Hades, Cloud had finally met his goal of finding Aerith again. But there was still one person that he was waiting for. Someone that _had_ been with Aerith, but wasn't here now. Cloud didn't quite have the courage to ask Aerith about it, after all—_he_ had meant a great deal to her, and Cloud… well, sometimes Cloud wondered if his memories were still muddled and confused.

_Zack…_

"Look at ya… you've gotten taller, shrimp." The voice was familiar and teasing all at once and while it _couldn't _be…

Cloud's head jerked up and he stared at spiky brown hair looming in front of him. It wasn't _Sora's_ spiky brown hair, even though that was gravity defying all on its own—it was something that was more reminiscent of his own, but the spikes falling in a more orderly fashion…._a hedgehog. _Cloud tried to push the inane thought to the back of his mind.

"But you're as shy as ever—I thought you got some spunk back." Concerned eyes looked into his shocked ones. "Or are you just too dazed by my amazing presence?" There was no arrogance, just simple teasing and Cloud finally snapped out of his stupor, reaching out, hardly _believing…_

"Zack?" he asked hoarsely. The last he had seen of his friend…his leader… his love…"You…"

"Don't look so shocked—I decided to stay behind for a while and then this nagging sensation hit me… you know, with most of the world being gone—" Here Zack rolled his eyes and made himself comfortable against Cloud. "It's really hard to heal it and then _everyone_ up and vanished … I decided to come here."

"It took you long enough!" Cloud accused, poking in accusing finger into Zack's chest. "Aerith and Yuffie and even _Cid_ made it here ages ago and you were probably just loafing around or chasing some pretty girl.. or…" Cloud's voice stuck in his throat.

"You act like it was easy, kid." Zack ruffled his hair in a too-familiar fashion. "C'mon, cheer up. You're kickass and moping about something that happened all that time ago is silly, since I'm here now."

It hit him—he knew that it was inevitable and that surely Zack would appear someday (if to appear for Aerith if no one else) but for years he had the image of Zack's body, riddled with Turk bullets stuck in his head; even when he saw him with Aerith—_his ghost_—the images were still stuck in a dusty corner of his mind.

"Well, don't expect to beat me up like you used to." Cloud crossed his arms over his chest in a childish fashion, eyeing Zack as if nothing had ever changed, as if Zack was still in SOLDIER and Cloud was a hopeful recruit. When he didn't know of the evils awaiting them; of Dr. Hojo and Sephiroth—of ShinRa's deception and the loss of everything Cloud knew, including his grasp on his memories.

"You think you've gotten so tough?" Zack smirked lazily and pulled Cloud to his feet. "We'll have to see about that—c'mon, introduce me to all these people you met here and then we'll invite them to see what _real_ SOLDIERS can do."

Cloud faced him directly and then brushed a wayward strand of blond hair from his face. "And then?" He asked directly.

Zack's grin could rival Sora's—Cloud had forgotten that—"Well, we'll just have to apologize to Aerith for not being able to spend much time reminiscing with her." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "After all, we have a lot of catching up to do."

Cloud blushed and huffed in an embarrassed manner before turning toward Merlin's house. Hiding his red cheeks, he gave a quick nod. "I'm sure they will be excited to meet you," he muttered. "Especially _that _one… "

Zack's look was inquisitive. "That one?"

"Sora… he's the one that… he's the Keyblade Master." Cloud didn't want to say _the one that saved us all, the one that gave us hope…_"And he just found who he had been looking for all this time as well."

"I don't recall you looking for me." Zack drawled. "I think it was the other way around…shrimp." The teasing grin was back—especially since he realized that no matter how much Cloud had grown, Zack was still taller. "Let's meet this friends of yours. I'm sure we have a lot in common."

Cloud thought of Sora's grin and never-ending desire to help people, to fight for those that he cared about at the risk of his own life—he saw it reflected in Zack and he nodded to himself. He was sure that they would get along just fine.

He could no longer be jealous of Sora or Riku; his precious person had finally found him.


End file.
